Gameday Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs @ Pittsburgh Penguins

Tonight, the Toronto Maple Leafs (10-12-2-2) will slide into Pittsburgh to face the Penguins (19-8-2-0), and one has to wonder: “What version of the Leafs will we see tonight?”.  If anything, the Leafs’ season thus far has been marked with the word “inconsistency.”  Personally, I’m finding it rather frustrating that this team can not seem to settle into the category of bad or good.  On the majority of nights this year, they haven’t been very good at all, but every once in a while, they pull off a miracle.  The Leafs are coming off a two game winning streak (consecutive wins against the Bruins and Capitals), both of which occurred after a thrilling come-from-behind effort for the Leafs, and consequently shootout wins.  As stated previously, the Leafs have done this twice before the past two games this season:  Once against Nashville, and another against the Capitals.

Leafs Continue to Confuse Fans

I know you are all thinking exactly the same thing I am thinking… What the $^&K is up with this team?  Seriously, what the heck?!  I am dumbfounded about what to think of the Toronto Maple Leafs this season.  In many games we’ve watched this season, they fail to show up for at least one period, and end up playing two periods.  In most cases, they show no interest, make bad plays, and fail to score.

Gameday Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs @ Washington Capitals

After showing some grit and sincere determination on Saturday night against the Boston Bruins, the Leafs (9-12-2-2) now head to Washington to play the dreaded Washington Capitals (18-8-1-1) tonight.  This is the second meeting of the season between these two teams, with the last meeting (November 3rd) going to the Washington Capitals in a shootout with the winning goal coming from Alexander Semin, with a final score of 5-4.

This Leafs Team is Pathetic

There’s something that I’ve been curious about recently, and I’m wondering if any readers can provide me some feedback on this.  How long does a Rogers Personal Video Recorder last?  What I mean to say is, how many times can one record and erase (read/write) content on a PVR before the storage device finally dies?  The reason I bring this up is because I am wondering if I should even bother recording Leafs games any more.  I mean, is there really a reason?  When I can’t watch a game live for one reason or another, I routinely record the game, then watch it later that evening, or the next morning in its entirety.  I do not fast forward or skip to the results, I watch the game fully.  

Gameday Preview: Edmonton Oilers @ Toronto Maple Leafs

Tonight, a battle of the NHL’s basement dwellers will commence at the Air Canada Center and will feature the Edmonton Oilers (8-12-1-3) take on the Toronto Maple Leafs (8-11-2-2).  The Toronto Maple Leafs come into tonight’s game riding a three game losing streak, with their last loss coming on Tuesday night, where the Leafs blew a third period lead in the dying seconds of the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and proceeded to lose the match quickly in overtime on a two-on-one break for the Lightning, after Schenn made a costly giveaway in the offensive zone.

Gameday Preview: Tampa Bay Lightning @ Toronto Maple Leafs

Tonight could prove to be quite painful for the Leafs, as well as their fans.  Having come off a weekend which saw the Leafs (8-11-1-2) drop two games (both of which the Leafs exhibited very little effort or interest), they now face an offensive powerhouse in the form of the Tampa Bay Lightning (13-8-2-1), who are led by an explosive Steven Stamkos.  This is the sort of match-up that could spell disaster for the Leafs.

Gameday Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs @ Ottawa Senators

Leafs fans across Canada will look to forget the horror of last night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres tonight when they Leafs travel down HWY 401 to Scotiabank Place, in Kanata Ontario, to take on the Ottawa Senators.  The “Battle of Ontario” is one in which fans of both teams get excited for, and for the most part, most match ups deliver on the excitement expected.  There is a lot of history between these two teams, and the atmosphere at the Scotiabank Place (or Air Canada Center, when in Toronto) is always electric, with fans of both teams exchanging “pleasantries” with each other.  While the Battle of Ontario is not what it once was, it is still a heated rivalry, so one should expect to see emotion on both sides.

Only Gustavsson Shows up to Face Buffalo Sabres

Last night, we all saw something that we’ve become accustomed to:  the Leafs laying a stinker in the HSBC arena before a crowd which, time and time again, contains almost as many Leafs fans as there are Sabres fans.  I can not fathom why the Leafs have so many problems facing the Sabres in Buffalo, and why they can not solve Ryan Miller.  At this point, I don’t see any reason why the Leafs should even bother playing the Sabres every year.  Lets just give Buffalo the 12 points and forget about playing the games.  This way, we avoid anyone getting injured, as well as avoid the unnecessary soreness we all feel in our heads, and our asses, after watching a game like last night.

Gameday Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs @ Buffalo Sabres

If there’s one place that Toronto Maple Leafs fans should fear their team playing in, it’s in Buffalo, NY.  The Leafs sport a horrible record playing in Buffalo, which currently sits at 27-54-6-2.  It seems that no matter how good each team is, whenever a Leafs/Sabres match-up occurs in Buffalo, the Leafs always find a way to blow it.  What’s even more strange is that one would expect the Leafs to play fairly well in Buffalo — after all, Buffalo is quite close to Toronto, and there are many Leafs fans in Niagara Falls and the surrounding area who prefer to see games in Buffalo, due to the cheaper ticket cost and proximity to their home.  Whenever you watch a game between the Leafs and Sabres in Buffalo, the crowd is almost completely spit between Leafs fans and Sabres fans.

Don’t Believe All of McGran’s “Probabilities” When it Comes to Leafs

When there are long breaks in between Leaf games, such as what us Leaf fans are currently experiencing right now (the Leafs play their next game on Friday, November 26th, and their last game was Monday, November 22nd), Toronto sports writers often times struggle to come up with good, captivating content regarding the Leafs such that readers of the daily newspaper have some Leaf-related content to keep them coming back to the sports section.  All the major newspapers in Toronto do this (Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, Globe, etc).  Sometimes, the content which is dug up and regurgitated on non-game days is actually quite good, but other times it’s a bit nonsensical.

In today’s Toronto Star (November 25th), Kevin McGran has written an article entitled, “Statistics Show Leafs’ Playoff Chances Slim“.  In this article, McGran compiles statistics dating back to 1993 that analyze the probability of a team making the playoffs based on their current point total and position in standings (ie. playoff position or not).